Mr Chamara Settinayake, 33, a software engineer, agreed it was "quite a localised incident" that gained traction because of the hate speech that appeared on social media.

The Sri Lankan government declared a state of emergency last Tuesday as the unrest escalated when a Muslim man was found dead in a building in Kandy, a day after a Sinhalese man died of injuries sustained in an attack carried out by Muslim men, reported AFP.

DESTROYED

Three people died, 20 others were wounded and more than 200 Muslim-owned businesses and homes were destroyed in four days of rioting that ended on Thursday. The curfew was lifted on Saturday.

Ms Alicia Seah, director of public relations and communications at Dynasty Travel, said its itinerary to Sri Lanka includes an overnight stay in Kandy, but customers here are booked to depart only next month.

"(They are) adopting a wait-and-see attitude. We will monitor the situation and amend the itinerary if necessary. Other parts of Sri Lanka are not affected," she added.

A spokesman for tour agency Chan Brothers said it does not have customers in Sri Lanka.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised Singaporeans to defer all non-essential travel to Kandy until the situation stabilises.